Alexis Gonzales’ former girlfriend said she last spoke to him about a month ago and that he "was in good spirits and doing well."
Gonzales had gotten a tiling job and "seemed proud to be working again and had a place to live again," said Rachel Main of Cincinnati.
The 34-year-old’s dismembered body was discovered Sunday afternoon off Mililani Cemetery Road in Waipio.
"I hate that the news stories focus on his criminal history," said Main. "He didn’t deserve this. Nobody would. I pray to God they find who did this to him.
"He was someone who may have struggled with drugs and alcohol, and being homeless, but this is the most heinous crime ever," Main said.
Gonzales had an auto theft conviction, as well as convictions for misdemeanor and petty misdemeanors including harassment and drunken driving.
Main and Gonzales had been together for about six months, but she left Hawaii last year because of her own financial struggles, she said in written messages via Facebook to the Star-Advertiser.
She said Gonzales loved being out at sea fishing and had gotten injured the last time he was out, so he couldn’t work for a while.
He would make and sell shark tooth necklaces from the sharks he caught, Main said.
She wants people to know that the 34-year-old was "a gentleman, very intelligent, protective, great with kids."
"He loved drawing comics with my son, who thought he was so fun!" she said. "He loved to laugh. He loved playing his guitar, his prized possession, which he named ‘Holly.’"
Gonzales’ Facebook page stated that he lived on 10th Avenue in Palolo, and listed his hometown as Long Beach, Calif.
Facebook posts indicate that his mother lives on Kauai and he has a sister in California.
Police said Wednesday night that no suspects have been arrested in the case.
They continue to ask that anyone with information call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellphone.
The Waianae couple who discovered the decapitated torso Sunday while looking for cans and bottles said police have asked them to take polygraph tests.
Sheer Sotelo said she and her husband, Joseph, went to the main police station Tuesday and that police recorded their separate statements. They were asked to return for polygraph tests.
"They should be lucky we found him," Sotelo said. "Where he was, nobody would ever find him. …
"We felt we did a good thing, and now so much questions and answers."
